Toulon beat Glasgow Warriors 51-28 in an entertaining match at the Stade Felix Mayol, taking a comfortable halftime lead before the visitors launched a comeback. Ten tries were scored, but this one finished by Delon Armitage was the pick of the bunch.

Star studded Toulon blew the Warriors away in the first half with four converted tries, powering away to a 34-0 halftime lead. But Glasgow came back in the second, showing why they are a force in the PRO12, something that key man Jonny Wilkinson said the home side fully expected.

"I wasn't surprised by the way Glasgow played in the second half," he said afterwards. "We had watched a lot of video and it had been hugely impressive. They look to me to be a very fit team with a great deal of understanding as well."

They claimed a four-try bonus point in the second half, showing great character to limit the damage and even looked possibly on track for a come from behind victory. The experience and might of Toulon told though, and the Heineken Cup champions were comfortable with the win in the end.

"We worked hard, built pressure and were able to get easy tries," said star centre Matt Giteau.

Giteau played a major role in Toulon's first try, as did Wilkinson, who caught a high ball excellently before a string of quality offloads set fullback Armitage up for a sprint to the corner. It was the try of the match but you can also view other highlights on page two of this post.

In other news, former Springbok and Bath scrumhalf Michael Claassens broke a bone in his hand and will be out for the next six weeks, meaning he will miss the upcoming Heineken Cup second round match against Cardiff, as well as a Top 14 clash with heavyweight's Toulouse.

Viewing 24 comments

Appalling commentary failing to do justice to a magnificent try. Wilkinson was superb in collection, running into space, passing and then linking, not to forget the conversion. You can see he is slower than he was, but who cares when he has such a wide range of skills? Giteau's was a small but beautiful contribution and Armitage could hardly have failed from then on in.

I love the Top14 and what's not to like about Toulon, but to retain the title this year will be a bigger achievement than to have won it in the first place. Great clip.

I agree, yes it was English players who started and finished the try, but a monkey could have done what Armitage did. The skill was provided by Wilkinson and the beautiful cut and offload from Giteau. English commentary is usually dire, and usually I find myself using the alternative commentary when I watch on the BBC or if its Sky, I just mute them.

The highlights are missing two of the Glasgow tries, all of which were well taken. Would be good if you could dig those up. They show the gulf between the Top 14 and the Pro 12 isn't as large as the first half suggested.

I see it as a fair amount of quality overlap between the three competitions to be honest. Given that historically the biggest heavy weights of the european competition in the professional era have been french, irish and english respectively.

Can't possibly judge until the teams actually play against each other, which is why the Heineken Cup is so important. I'm not against a new competition, but to not have a cup competition which pits the Irish, French, English, Scottish and Welsh would be a tragedy. Otherwise, we're back to Southern vs Northern Hemisphere talk fests, based on an occasional tour game and a World Cup every four years....

Gentlemen, very soon all rugby will look like this. Every test player will find a contract that best suits them personally. Players' clubs will have nothing to do with their home countries. Every strong club side will be an international all star team, much like the EPL.

We'll eventually see a Champions League. It will be a big deal and showcase some incredible rugby that will surpass 5 Nations and eventually Ranfurly Shield, and Currie Cup level play. It will be comprised of 100% mercenaries.

SH teams holding caps over the head of players to keep them home will not last past the next WC. Test rugby will diminish in import and club rugby will be the future.

The idea of a champions league (I Guess you mean best club sides from around the world competing?) is a good one in theory but bad in practice due to travel time. This I guess could be circumvented by a rotational venue (One year Great Britain, then SA, NZ etc..), but then it still costs a lot to put these things on. I remain skeptical such a Champions league will exist in the next 50 years. Due to the amount of separate interests involved in such a scheme. Also based on the strength of the SANZAR unions, their respective TV rights and sponsorship obligations.

Besides I much prefer the Super 15.

It would be interesting to have a club world cup so to speak every 4 years or so...

Also I think you are a bit out of date. There is no 5 Nations anymore. The Ranfurly shield isn't a competition just an important tradition involved inside the ITM Cup competition.

In terms of SH teams holding caps...??? Not a 100% sure what you mean but players who want to be picked for the AB's have to play for a NZ club. They have to be committed to NZ rugby. If they feel they have a chance of making the AB's they wouldn't leave as wearing the Black jersey is the pinnacle of success for Rugby in NZ. Young boys dream of putting it on like they dream of being superman. I would say this is similar in SA as well (not sure). I think this point of difference. Wanting to be part of the legend is what makes NZ rugby teams as good as they are. Nobody wants to be part of the AB's team that becomes second rate.

I disagree. The players know where they can make money. If it were only about the money it would already be as you say. Maybe thats the way it is where your from... But for Kiwis if you wear the black jersey you have automatic rockstar status. You become part of the legend. Maybe this idea is hard for you to fully comprehend but it is non the less the strongest influence on where a player chooses to play in NZ. Which is why you see only retiring players or unselected players going overseas for a quick buck. Quite a few of which come back home because playing rugby in another country is no where near as satisfying as playing in NZ. Rugby in NZ is almost like cricket in India.

People can't live on "rockstar status"... they need rockstar cash too... hence why so many choose to head North and into the French teams as the salaries are so much higher...

Look at it this way: You start school, you're an amazing player, you get noticed, you end up playing for Baby NZ's.. if you play so well you end up in the NZ first team aged 21 then great you're sorted, play a few years then go on a pilgrimage abroad to make some cash. But if you aren't picked for the All Blacks straight away, then what? How long do you fight? Of course giving up is never right, but perhaps cutting your losses whilst you're still great enough to make a fortune at club level might not be a bad thing.

As for the comment regarding a Champions league thing, you mention it not working due to travel time, this wouldn't be the case, because it would most likely all be in the Northern Hemisphere, where all the French teams are paying fortunes...

Wonderful stuff, slightly unusual to see Wilkinson bossing an aerial contest like that!

Ordinarily hate watching his long drawn-out kicking set-up. But having missed 5 out of 5 conversion attempts myself (from similar positions to be fair) last weekend, maybe I ought to pay more attention....

I am not an anti-Armitage guy (kind of missed the controversy) but he only had one thing to do and almost... almost screwed that up with his swan dive. Considering the perpendicular angle of the tackler's line, he must've known the tackle was going to be a hard one, yet he risked it with his dive and almost had the ball dislodged.
If you're going to do the swan lake over the white wash, at least earn it with some magic beforehand (of course this does not apply to props, who are always welcome to put on their swan wings and tiaras).
And for godsake don't be a tit and do it when a defender is almost on top of you.
Maybe that is just me.

It is a beautifull try indeed... However the switch between Giteau and mermoz is completetly useless and almost counterproductive. there is and 3vs2 on the outside that, if played correctly was an easy try.
Giteau is an oustanding player so he can get the offload that keeps the momentum going. As often in toulon great individual technique compensate the lack of collective strategy.

There seems to be some confusion between participating teams in the Heineken Cup and 'club' teams. Club teams are for the most part run by and played by volunteers who do it for the love of the game. 'Club' teams are pretty much without exception, the source of every player in the Heineken Cup. I love the Heineken Cup. I love it all the more when I see a player who I maybe first saw as an under 12 or under 14 playing in my local provincial league. Someone who I may have coached or helped to fill out his registration form.
'Clubs' seem to have been forgotten in the debates about rugby these days. If the game is to have a future, somebody should start to remember them and the sooner the better.